The 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar was the first of two US Mint silver commemoratives in 2009. On February 12, 2009, the US Mint produced proof and uncirculated coins with a maximum mintage of 500,000.
This was one of five new Lincoln coins struck by the Mint to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial. Also minted were four Lincoln Cents depicting different stages of the former president's life.
Collectors quickly bought all 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollars. Within two months of availability, 450,000 of the coins were requested from the Mint, declaring them sold out.
In preparation for the soon-to-be-released Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set, which made its debut on October 15, 2009 and sold out in fewer than two days, 50,000 proof coins were set aside for the set.
There is a picture of Abraham Lincoln shown on the obverse of the Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollars that were issued in 2009. The sculptor-engraver at the United States Mint, Don Everhart, was responsible for the design, while the United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer, Justin Kunz, was the one who developed it.
A picture of President Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, which is housed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, District of Columbia, served as the inspiration for this painting. These inscriptions, which read "LIBERTY," "IN GOD WE TRUST," and "2009," are placed all around the image.
On the reverse, a laurel wreath surrounds the final 43 words of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "This Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." The US of A, ONE DOLLAR, and E PLURIBUS UNUM inscriptions are also seen.
Phebe Hemphill, a sculptor-engraver who was assigned to the United States Mint, was the one who was responsible for the design and sculpting of the reverse.